Forum Discussions - Atheist Nexus2018-02-22T07:12:37Zhttp://atheistnexus.org/forum/topic/list?feed=yes&xn_auth=noAccelerating Collapse for Personal Gaintag:atheistnexus.org,2018-02-19:2182797:Topic:27923692018-02-19T04:52:37.973ZRuth Anthony-Gardnerhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RuthAnthonyGardner
<p><a href="https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/donald-trump-tyranny" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Why a Government Run by Oligarchs Is Very Deadly</a></p>
<p>Chris Hedges articulates the dangers of Oligarchy.</p>
<blockquote><span><span style="background: yellow;">Oligarchs</span> care nothing for competency, intelligence, honesty, rationality, self-sacrifice or the common good. They <span style="background: yellow;">pervert, deform and dismantle systems of power to serve their…</span></span></blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/donald-trump-tyranny" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Why a Government Run by Oligarchs Is Very Deadly</a></p>
<p>Chris Hedges articulates the dangers of Oligarchy.</p>
<blockquote><span><span style="background: yellow;">Oligarchs</span> care nothing for competency, intelligence, honesty, rationality, self-sacrifice or the common good. They <span style="background: yellow;">pervert, deform and dismantle systems of power to serve their immediate interests, squandering the future for short-term personal gain.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote><p><span>... once oligarchs take power, rational, prudent and thoughtful responses to social, economic and political problems are ignored to feed insatiable greed. <span style="background: yellow;">The late stage of every civilization is characterized by the sophistry of oligarchs, who ravage the decaying carcass of the state.</span></span></p>
<p><span>Oligarchs use power and ruling structures solely for personal advancement.</span></p>
<p><span>The parts of the state that serve the common good wither in the name of deregulation and austerity. The parts that promote the oligarchs’ power expand in the name of national security, economic growth and law and order.</span></p>
<p><span>Oligarchs look at regulations to protect the environment or the safety of workers as impediments to profit and abolish them. </span></p>
<p><span><span style="background: yellow;">They use the language of patriotism to stoke hatred against their critics and to justify their crimes.</span> They see the world in black and white—those who are loyal to them and those who are the enemy. </span></p>
<p><span>Oligarchs accelerate social, political, cultural and economic collapse. The unchecked plunder leads to systems breakdown.</span></p>
<p><span> In the end, they are overthrown or destroy the state itself. There is no institution left in America that can be called democratic, and thus there is no internal mechanism to prevent a descent into barbarity.</span></p>
<p><span>The longer we are ruled by oligarchs, the deadlier our predicament becomes, especially since the oligarchs refuse to address climate change, the greatest existential crisis to humankind.</span></p>
<p><span>History may not repeat itself, but it echoes. And if we don’t recognize these echoes and then revolt, we will be herded into the abattoirs that tyrannies set up at the end of their existence. [emphasis mine]</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/WMMNJV54lEWfIjHEbMIIYyzye1LsVnEiAx8v01CN2XpMICGhJGN4LHQTZn*91xXP6AXnc6OPoaatKmef-bNaSMXC3lFHAVt8/herde2.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/WMMNJV54lEWfIjHEbMIIYyzye1LsVnEiAx8v01CN2XpMICGhJGN4LHQTZn*91xXP6AXnc6OPoaatKmef-bNaSMXC3lFHAVt8/herde2.jpg" width="450" class="align-center"/></a><a href="http://www.rvisiontv.com/pneumonia-and-diarrhea-affects-in-rohingya-refugee-camp-in-bangladesh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">image source</a></p>
<p>Ravaging the decaying carcass of the United States government for short-term personal gain. Yup. That's what I see happening. Hedges articulates what's happening from a systemic perspective. But his advice to revolt, with "<span>no internal mechanism to prevent a descent into barbarity." Not very helpful. &lt;sigh&gt; I imagine an entirely new social structure based on two-way information flow, where those with most power and money deserve the least privacy. A return flow, as it were.</span></p>
<p><span>"Abattoirs that tyrannies set up" brings to mind Third Reich concentration camps, but the UN says the prison system of North Korea is worse than they were.</span></p> Mandated voting a very bad idea.tag:atheistnexus.org,2018-02-16:2182797:Topic:27919182018-02-16T16:23:46.576ZCompelledunbelieverhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/Compelledunbeliever
<p> I have seen the subject of mandated voting on the web recently, It makes me shutter. I once was in that camp. I believed that as a U.S. citizen it was one's duty to vote. I have since changed my mind.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The idea sounds great at first. If one lives in a democracy or more appropriately a Representative/Constitutional Republic one should participate in it. There is one major problem with this. It is much like talking to Christians about the bible. In most cases they will have very…</p>
<p> I have seen the subject of mandated voting on the web recently, It makes me shutter. I once was in that camp. I believed that as a U.S. citizen it was one's duty to vote. I have since changed my mind.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The idea sounds great at first. If one lives in a democracy or more appropriately a Representative/Constitutional Republic one should participate in it. There is one major problem with this. It is much like talking to Christians about the bible. In most cases they will have very strong opinions about he Bible. When you actually get to specifics, it is easy to determine they have almost no actual knowledge about the bible.</p>
<p> Few people really pay that much attention to the issues at all. The extent of their knowledge is based on blurbs they have heard on the radio on the way to work. If they are really sophisticated they might watch the news occasionally. They are only familiar with sound bytes from politicians whom do not wish to educate but to sway opinions. These sound bytes come from the media. We are now all familiar with the term "False News."</p>
<p>It takes time and effort to ferret out false news. I am sure I think things are true that are not due to false news, I know I don't even know what they are. Right before actual election day there will be much false news that comes out about everyone at all levels of government. I will give an example. Lets say someone is running or local mayer and it comes out on the internet and newspapers that he has been accused of being a baby raper. No one wants to vote for a child molester, I don't want to. Would it change my mind? No not at all. I know it is probably false news and that he will be cleared. If not I expect him to be held accountable to the full power of the law. The only reason that such tactics are used is that they work. The average person that is not aware of false news or how politics work <em>will </em>change their vote on impulse.</p>
<p>If someone does not keep up with the issues and is not aware of political tactics and the impact of false news, I do not want them voting at all. An uneducated vote is just like the sheeple in the pews that will do whatever the pastor says without thinking. A vote can often be often counterproductive to a community. An uneducated vote is dangerous.</p>
<p></p>
<p> If people do not want to vote or are unconcerned about voting I am very happy for them to stay home. I do not want their impulsive sound byte opinions affecting my life.</p>
<p>Rant complete. </p> Near-Term Technology Threattag:atheistnexus.org,2018-02-12:2182797:Topic:27914782018-02-12T23:47:21.263ZRuth Anthony-Gardnerhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RuthAnthonyGardner
<p><a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/the-terrifying-future-of-fake-news?utm_term=.dlylz6B9o#.rdElKBXrg" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Infocalypse Now</a></p>
<p>Our near-term AI threat isn't direct military attack, like Terminator movies. We're gripped now by early-stage reality manipulation actions. Some of this c<span>omputational propaganda</span>, like #ReleaseTheMemo, serves those already in power.</p>
<p>In 2016 <a href="http://aviv.me/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Aviv…</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/the-terrifying-future-of-fake-news?utm_term=.dlylz6B9o#.rdElKBXrg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Infocalypse Now</a></p>
<p>Our near-term AI threat isn't direct military attack, like Terminator movies. We're gripped now by early-stage reality manipulation actions. Some of this c<span>omputational propaganda</span>, like #ReleaseTheMemo, serves those already in power.</p>
<p>In 2016 <a href="http://aviv.me/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aviv Ovadya</a> warned that "the web and the information ecosystem that developed around it was wildly unhealthy." Core civilization institutions are being upended, what he calls an "infocalypse" is unfolding.</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/VWXTMij6LMH3JQTKqXwMcDHwLiC36rvMbKTnh0uyQb8W5k-fbvWrPZjUj8ZE8rIIE70HOSdHuia*TWd6Do065eDISRd9f5nd/Ovadaya.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/VWXTMij6LMH3JQTKqXwMcDHwLiC36rvMbKTnh0uyQb8W5k-fbvWrPZjUj8ZE8rIIE70HOSdHuia*TWd6Do065eDISRd9f5nd/Ovadaya.jpg" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>In other words, we're collectively at risk of losing touch with reality. Let me break it into six categories.</p>
<p><strong>Infocalypse</strong></p>
<blockquote>Technologies that can be used to enhance and distort what is real are evolving faster than our ability to understand and control or mitigate it.</blockquote>
<blockquote><p>“At the time, it felt like we were in a car careening out of control and it wasn’t just that everyone was saying, ‘we’ll be fine’ — it’s that they didn't even see the car,” he said.</p>
<p><span style="background: yellow;">Ovadya saw early</span> what many — including lawmakers, journalists, and Big Tech CEOs — wouldn’t grasp until months later: <span style="background: yellow;">Our platformed and algorithmically optimized world is vulnerable — to propaganda, to misinformation, to dark targeted advertising from foreign governments — so much so that it threatens to undermine a cornerstone of human discourse: the credibility of fact.</span> [emphasis mine]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That's how I feel, like we're in an out of control car and everybody not only thinks we're fine but they don't even see the car. Two out of control variables are erupting, climate destabilization and the attack on science and truth.</p>
<p><strong>Hyperrealistic photo, audio, and video fakes </strong></p>
<blockquote>Already available tools for audio and video manipulation have begun to look like a potential fake news Manhattan Project. In the murky corners of the internet, people have begun using machine learning algorithms and open-source software to easily <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bjye8a/reddit-fake-porn-app-daisy-ridley">create pornographic videos that realistically superimpose the faces of celebrities</a> — or anyone for that matter — on the adult actors’ bodies. At institutions like Stanford, technologists have built programs that that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohmajJTcpNk">combine and mix recorded video footage</a> with real-time face tracking to manipulate video. Similarly, at the University of Washington computer scientists successfully built a program capable of “<a href="http://grail.cs.washington.edu/projects/AudioToObama/">turning audio clips into a realistic, lip-synced video</a> of the person speaking those words.” As proof of concept, both the teams manipulated broadcast video to make world leaders appear to say things they never actually said.<p>Adobe also recently piloted two projects — <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3l4XLZ59iw">Voco</a> and Cloak — the first a "Photoshop for audio," the second a tool that can seamlessly remove objects (and people!) from video in a matter of clicks.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here's a sample of how video can simulate a real person saying something that's programmed.</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MVBe6_o4cMI?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</p>
<p><strong>Diplomacy manipulation</strong></p>
<p>Already someone could use this technology to throw an election or start a war by releasing false video.</p>
<blockquote><span>There’s “diplomacy manipulation,” in which a malicious actor uses advanced technology to “create the belief that an event has occurred” to influence geopolitics. Imagine, for example, ... Donald Trump or North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, ... near-perfect — and virtually impossible to distinguish from reality — audio or video clip of the leader declaring nuclear or biological war. “It doesn’t have to be perfect — just good enough to make the enemy think something happened that it provokes a knee-jerk and reckless response of retaliation.”</span></blockquote>
<p><strong>Polity simulation</strong></p>
<p> Another scenario, which Ovadya dubs “polity simulation,” is a dystopian combination of political botnets and astroturfing, where political movements are manipulated by fake grassroots campaigns. </p>
<blockquote><span>This summer, more than one million fake bot accounts flooded the FCC’s open comments system to “</span><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/bots-broke-fcc-public-comment-system/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amplify the call to repeal net neutrality protections</a><span>.” Researchers concluded that automated comments — some using natural language processing to appear real — obscured legitimate comments, undermining the authenticity of the entire open comments system. Ovadya nods to the FCC example as well as the recent </span><a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/04/trump-twitter-russians-release-the-memo-216935" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bot-amplified #releasethememo</a><span> campaign as a blunt version of what's to come. "It can just get so much worse," he said.</span></blockquote>
<p>For details on the latter read <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/04/trump-twitter-russians-release-the-memo-216935" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How Twitter Bots and Trump Fans Made #ReleaseTheMemo Go Viral.</a></p>
<p><strong>Automated laser phishing is inevitable</strong></p>
<p>Laser phishing is jargon for precisely personalized phishing. Once software spreads making it easy for users to collect detailed data from your social media to generate texts, voicemail and videos which sound exactly like your friends and relatives, people will be overwhelmed. People will turn off their email and watch fantasy.</p>
<blockquote><span>“In the next two, three, four years we’re going to have to plan for hobbyist propagandists who can make a fortune by creating highly realistic, photo realistic simulations,” Justin Hendrix, the executive director of NYC Media Lab, told BuzzFeed News. “And should those attempts work, and people come to suspect that there's no underlying reality to media artifacts of any kind, then we're in a really difficult place. It'll only take a couple of big hoaxes to really convince the public that nothing’s real.”</span></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reality apathy</strong></p>
<blockquote><span style="background: yellow;">Beset by a torrent of constant misinformation, people simply start to give up. Ovadya is quick to remind us that this is common in areas where information is poor and thus assumed to be incorrect. The big difference, Ovadya notes, is the adoption of apathy to a developed society like ours.</span> [emphasis mine]</blockquote> America’s Founders Allegedly Used Biblical Concepts Everywheretag:atheistnexus.org,2018-02-10:2182797:Topic:27912102018-02-10T16:09:23.569Ztom sarbeckhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/TomSarbeck
<p>With the nation’s capital now having a Museum of the Bible, thumpers on C-SPAN 3 are claiming the Bible is the origin of every concept in the Constitution, even the idea that Americans are a fallen people and original sin. </p>
<p>If nothing else, they are dedicated. Are they defining a new test of patriotism?</p>
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<p></p>
<p>With the nation’s capital now having a Museum of the Bible, thumpers on C-SPAN 3 are claiming the Bible is the origin of every concept in the Constitution, even the idea that Americans are a fallen people and original sin. </p>
<p>If nothing else, they are dedicated. Are they defining a new test of patriotism?</p>
<p></p>
<p></p> Attend LIVE online Q&A stream with Republican Atheists' President on Feb. 16, 2018tag:atheistnexus.org,2018-02-09:2182797:Topic:27911882018-02-09T10:50:08.635ZLauren Ellhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/LaurenEll
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/KsoUihh1dOzFUq-uYzn4VAFZEtNZlevgAkF*YJaev-fdvsNsjqLLGKzEnDb53oyGfmqQf6*Nton1-1TAtgOvpmc3LPTwspWN/Lauren_Ell_Republican_Atheists.png" target="_self"><img class="align-center" height="233" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/KsoUihh1dOzFUq-uYzn4VAFZEtNZlevgAkF*YJaev-fdvsNsjqLLGKzEnDb53oyGfmqQf6*Nton1-1TAtgOvpmc3LPTwspWN/Lauren_Ell_Republican_Atheists.png" width="282"></img></a></p>
<p>Republican Atheists' President Lauren Ell will be hosting a LIVE online Q&amp;A stream on Twitch on February 16, 2018 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET. This is open to public and free to attend. Attendees have the option to participate in a text chat and ask Ell questions or make comments. For more…</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/KsoUihh1dOzFUq-uYzn4VAFZEtNZlevgAkF*YJaev-fdvsNsjqLLGKzEnDb53oyGfmqQf6*Nton1-1TAtgOvpmc3LPTwspWN/Lauren_Ell_Republican_Atheists.png" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/KsoUihh1dOzFUq-uYzn4VAFZEtNZlevgAkF*YJaev-fdvsNsjqLLGKzEnDb53oyGfmqQf6*Nton1-1TAtgOvpmc3LPTwspWN/Lauren_Ell_Republican_Atheists.png" width="282" class="align-center" height="233"/></a></p>
<p>Republican Atheists' President Lauren Ell will be hosting a LIVE online Q&amp;A stream on Twitch on February 16, 2018 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET. This is open to public and free to attend. Attendees have the option to participate in a text chat and ask Ell questions or make comments. For more information about the broadcast go <a href="http://republicanatheists.com/attend-live-online-qa-session-republican-atheists-president-lauren-ell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p> 7.3 Billion People Are Too Many. Regarding Population, Homo Are NOT Very Sapienstag:atheistnexus.org,2018-02-04:2182797:Topic:27909352018-02-04T22:57:38.387ZTom Sarbeckhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/TomSarbeck74
<p>There will be consequences.</p>
<p>What will Homo Not Very Sapiens do? What should we do? Will we do it? How will we do it?</p>
<p>Or will we do nothing?</p>
<p>Please shelve your pessimism.</p>
<p>There will be consequences.</p>
<p>What will Homo Not Very Sapiens do? What should we do? Will we do it? How will we do it?</p>
<p>Or will we do nothing?</p>
<p>Please shelve your pessimism.</p> The USA Is Becoming More Secular in An Important Way (Despite the Pessimism of A Few of Us)tag:atheistnexus.org,2018-02-02:2182797:Topic:27908562018-02-02T19:07:09.485Ztom sarbeckhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/TomSarbeck
<p>Until recently the term <em>Acts of Go</em><em>d </em>was used to describe natural events (such as storms) that do harm in our lives.</p>
<p>I’m selling an empty lot I own and the contract I’m negotiating refers to such events — even in holier than anywhere else Texas — as <em>Casualty Losses. </em></p>
<p>That is progress!</p>
<p>We can now focus our efforts at sillinesses such as <em>In God We Trust </em>and <em>Under God.</em></p>
<p></p>
<p>Until recently the term <em>Acts of Go</em><em>d </em>was used to describe natural events (such as storms) that do harm in our lives.</p>
<p>I’m selling an empty lot I own and the contract I’m negotiating refers to such events — even in holier than anywhere else Texas — as <em>Casualty Losses. </em></p>
<p>That is progress!</p>
<p>We can now focus our efforts at sillinesses such as <em>In God We Trust </em>and <em>Under God.</em></p>
<p></p> Search query?tag:atheistnexus.org,2018-02-02:2182797:Topic:27905992018-02-02T11:01:47.726ZChrishttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/ChrisGillespie
<p>Am I missing something?</p>
<p>Is there a seach or query function in Atheist Nexus?</p>
<p>Am I missing something?</p>
<p>Is there a seach or query function in Atheist Nexus?</p> State of The Union Addresstag:atheistnexus.org,2018-01-31:2182797:Topic:27904162018-01-31T02:30:29.136ZChrishttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/ChrisGillespie
<p>The theme song for the State of the Union Address should be:</p>
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<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bMpFmHSgC4Q?wmode=opaque" allowfullscreen="" height="315" frameborder="0" width="560"></iframe>
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<p>The theme song for the State of the Union Address should be:</p>
<p></p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bMpFmHSgC4Q?wmode=opaque" allowfullscreen="" height="315" frameborder="0" width="560"></iframe>
</p> Arizona Bigotrytag:atheistnexus.org,2018-01-28:2182797:Topic:27903602018-01-28T21:37:18.865ZPatriciahttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/Patricia861
<p></p>
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<div style="padding-bottom: 10px;">Navajo legislator also says protesters asked him if he is in the U.S. illegally…</div>
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<td style="width: 578px; color: #333; font: 13px Arial; vertical-align: top;"><div style="padding-bottom: 10px;"><strong> </strong></div>
<div style="padding-bottom: 10px;">Navajo legislator also says protesters asked him if he is in the U.S. illegally</div>
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